As it turns out, human beings are not the only species sentimental about hair growth. Recent research has revealed that female wolf spiders usually find their male counterparts with hairy legs very attractive. Researchers based in the US think that the tufts of hair on the male spiders' legs may actually accentuate the seductive movements of the courtship displays. Researchers Eileen Hebets and Geroge Utez of the University of Cincinati in Ohio, USA, videotaped the courtship dances of the male wolf spiders and then, using modern software packages, digitally manipulated the hair on their legs. Then they observed the reaction of the female spiders who were made to watch the doctored images on a miniature television screen. As the researchers report in a recent issue of Behavorial Ecology and Sociobiology , 'adding' tufts of hair to the males legs appeared to excite the female audience. Removing hair, however, reduced the females' receptivity. Utez thinks the hair enhances the spiders' leg-waving signals.
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